Harry Potter and the Dark Lord
by Keryl Raist
Summary: What Deathly Hallows should have been but wasn't. See the year through Snape's eyes. Watch Harry, Ron, and Hermione act like heroes rather than brats. See Neville kick ass and take names. Watch as I wrap up loose threads and close the plot holes of DH.
1. Foreword

Foreword:

This is especially aimed at those of you who are taking a chance on this because you loved A Proper Romance: I decided to go with the prequel. After all, I know where this one ends, which would be my biggest struggle with the sequel to A Proper Romance. I have not abandoned the idea of a sequel to A Proper Romance, so keep an eye peeled, chapters and bits of it will probably be showing up as well. But, in that I still don't have a real story arc, I can't really start writing the story.

This is the story I do have a real story arc for. This is what Deathly Hallows (in my humble, but none the less correct opinion) should have been. This is what I think most of us wanted it to be. But since most of you noticed I tried to keep true to DH when writing A Proper Romance, I can't totally scrap DH. So this story will be a hybrid. I'll take the bits of DH that are worth taking, or the parts that I committed to being true by referencing them in my other works, and I'll weave them into what should have happened.

For those of you diehard Snape/Granger shippers, there will be none of that in this fic. First and foremost Hermione is eighteen/nineteen years old. Secondly Snape is on the verge of tumbling into suicidal depression. Neither of them are in a good place for a relationship with the other. But unlike DH where we got all of ten seconds of Snape, I do intend to spend some time following what he actually did during that year.

Lastly, this will not be the kind of cute happy fiction that A Proper Romance was. I certainly hope to have funny bits, and I hope to have some romance, but this is the story of a war, and a story of people trying to be heroes. As such it will be a good deal darker than A Proper Romance.

You may notice the first bit of this tale looks familiar. It's the T version of The Hero's Farewell, and it will start the story off. If you like smut, go read the M version. For those of you who haven't seen it before, this takes place directly after the last page of the Half Blood Prince. As always I'll try to stay as canon compliant as I can, especially in regards to the first six books.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.


	2. The Hero's Farewell

Harry Potter and the Dark Lord

A/N: This takes place directly after the end of Half Blood Prince.

Chapter 1: The Hero's Farewell

It wasn't just one day. In Harry's original plan he'd say goodbye to Ron and Hermione right after the funeral, and head toward the Dursley's to plan and kill time until just before his seventeenth birthday. Then off to his parent's house. The hunt would begin, and he wouldn't have too much time to think about what…who he had left behind. But Ron and Hermione would be coming with him, and they had to go to the wedding, and weddings are complicated, and it just couldn't be done in less than two days, and then one day for the wedding, so three days.

Day one started with Harry running errands for Mrs. Weasley, cleaning, and helping to get the back yard into good order. He had been moping through cleaning the living room, casting longing looks at Ginny through the window, when Hermione walked up to him. She took his hands, and sat down next to him.

"Harry."

"Oh, Hi, Hermione."

"I want you to listen to me very carefully. Forget your plan of nobly dropping Ginny, and enjoy the next few days. They'll be little enough joy for who knows how long after that, so you should take advantage of what time you've got."

"But…"

She cut him off, "Look, you can't protect Ginny by pretending she doesn't mean anything to you. Between Snape already knowing about you two, and Voldemort being the best Legilemens to ever live, it just isn't going to work. Her going back to school when it opens should help, but you tormenting yourself, and her, by playing at this charade won't."

"Hermione, it's not that…" Harry was quiet. "She makes me happier than anything ever has. I was ready to leave right after I broke with her. If we start back up, I don't know if I'll be able to go."

"Leave that to Ron and me. We'll get you back on the path, day after the wedding, but you might as well enjoy the next few days."

He looked across the garden to Ginny, putting up a garland of flowers for the wedding. "You two will get me going?"

"Right after breakfast on Sunday morning."

Harry dropped his duster, walked out to Ginny and looked up at her. "I was being stupid."

"Took you long enough to figure that out."

"Ummm..."

"Took Hermione long enough to tell you that." She smiled kindly at him. She knew why he had broken up with her, and she knew how he hadn't planned for three days of limbo between saying his goodbyes and actually leaving.

He grinned up at her. She hopped down from her perch and slid into his arms. At some later point he heard Mrs. Weasley say, "How are those flowers coming along?" Not really a question, she could see the last length of the garland dangling from where Ginny left it. He looked a bit chagrined and let Ginny go.

* * *

The next day involved more errands. "Harry, go get…" "Harry, put these there..." "Harry, help get Fleur's family settled." It was the first time he had ever wished the Weasleys had House Elves. _How on earth could one party take so much planning? Do they really need all this white, pink, and gold fluffy stuff? And why do I have to carry it all?_

He and Ron had just gotten back from a trip to Fledding's Jewelry to pick up the rings, and a few other things.

"What are these?" Harry asked looking at a small pile of short wide boxes.

"Like I know? Stuff for the ladies."

They had handed off their packages to Mrs. Weasley, who told them to look out back and see if everything was all right. "I just want to make sure everything is perfect…"

"Wow!" Harry said his eyes wide.

"Yeah," answered Ron, not sure how this much change could have taken place in the two hours they were away.

"Is this your backyard?" Harry asked.

"I think so, that's the house behind us." Ron turned to face the house, and then turned back to the yard.

The backyard had been transformed into a fluffy white/pink/gold wonderland. Rows of chairs flanked a white path leading up to a white gazebo draped with shimmering white/pink/gold silks. Flowers cascaded from candle holders placed at the ends of the rows. The hedges had developed white blooms. Mrs. Weasley walked up behind them, and put her arms around them. "What do you think?"

"It's lovely Mrs. Weasley."

"Mom, compared to this, Fleur's a homely girl."

"Ron, that the nicest thing you've ever said to me. Now come inside, dinner's in a few minutes."

* * *

"Did you get it?" Hermione asked Ginny as the red-head walked in with a brown paper wrapped package.

"Yep, came on one of the owls. Lucky no one decided to open it."

"Not luck, this company makes sure their goods can only be opened by the addressee."

"Then I better hand it to you." Ginny gave the package to Hermione.

A quick flick of her wand, and the package opened. Two smaller parcels wrapped in brown paper lay inside. She handed one to Ginny, and began opening hers. "Wrong one, this is yours."

Ginny switched packages with Hermione and opened the hole in hers large enough to take out the cream colored lace bra, panties, suspenders and stockings. "Oh they're so pretty. What did you get?"

Hermione held up a ruby colored merriwidow.

Ginny grinned."Oh my. You might kill Ron with that."

Hermione smiled wickedly at Ginny. "That's kind of the idea."

"I hope Harry likes these."

"Ginny, Harry will love whatever you have on. The real question is: Will he be able to figure out how to take them off?"

Ginny giggled, "Well, if he doesn't that could be interesting too."

"How are you going to tell him?"

"Tomorrow night, you know Glinda's Song,"

"Yeah, good one."

"Anyway, the band will play that one, and I will be dancing with him, and I'll ask him then."

"Good plan. I already told Ron to make sure his room was free, told him what I wanted to do in his room while it was empty. He blushed so hard his hair was the least red part of him after I told him."

Ginny laughed. "Tomorrow will be so much fun."

* * *

"Will McGonagall be at the wedding?" Hermione asked. The wedding was two hours away and they were taking advantage of the first time in three days to talk without anyone listening in.

"I think so," said Ron.

"Good, I want to ask if we can go back to Hogwarts a bit."

"Why on earth would you want to do that?" asked Harry.

"I want to get in the library. There's loads of stuff we need to know, tricks that will come in handy. Really basic things like how to set a ward, or more important stuff like what artifacts of Ravenclaw are believed to have survived. Where Voldemort used to spend time. All sorts of useful stuff."

Harry have been about to roll his eyes, and groan, but part of him actually listened to what she had said. "You know that's a good idea."

"You think?" said Hermione sarcastically.

"If we're very lucky she'll let us raid the potions cupboard."

"If we're very lucky we'll get a chance to use the Pensieve. I don't know where Dumbledore stored his memories, but if we can find them, even if there is nothing new, I'd like to see what you think after looking at them."

"Not to kill your dreams, but how are we supposed to do this without her knowing what we're going to be doing? It's a Secret Mission, remember?" Ron said.

"Bugger," Hermione said. Both Harry and Ron looked shocked.

"Have you ever said that before?" Ron asked.

"Yes, because my choice in profanity is much more important than the fact that now we've got to figure a way to break into the school and steal what we need."

Harry stared out the window. Ron fiddled with a chessman. Hermione looked at both of them halfway hoping one of them would suggest that maybe they could trust McGonagall and they wouldn't have to break in after all.

"We'll go to the Shrieking Shack. Harry can use his cloak. We'll use Disillusionment Charms. The school's closed, and I think I remember Remus saying something about most of the Professors going home for the summer, so getting in and out won't be too hard. We'll probably have to abandon the plan for the Pensieve, I don't see an easy way to get a hold of it, but maybe an opportunity will present itself." Ron moved the chessmen around the board while he spoke.

"That could work." Harry said nodding. "We can work on the plan more when we get to Privet Drive."

"Not like we'll have much else to do there," Hermione said.

Mr. Weasley poked his head into Ron's room. "Come on you three, it's time to get dressed." Hermione got up to leave, as they walked down the hall Ron and Harry heard Mr. Weasley say, "Molly's waiting for you in Ginny's room…"

Harry hopped off his bed and rummaged about in his trunk. "Here they are." His new dress robes were dark forest green with a black trim.

"It's not often I feel grateful to Fred and George, but these are worlds better than the dress robes my mom got." Ron was pulling his maroon robes out of his closet.

"Yeah, I like you better without lace."

"Harry." Ron paused looking like he was trying to say something.

"Yeah, mate." He stopped one leg in his dress pants, one leg out.

"Could you make sure not to get back to the room 'til after 2:00." Ron was grinning sheepishly.

"You and Hermione?"

"No, I just want to make sure I'm good asleep before you come tromping in here. Of course, me and Hermione."

"Sure. Wow. I guess I didn't think… wow…"

"Yeah, well, that's more or less what I told her. Took me a while to get used to the idea."

"Wait, she asked you?"

"Yep." For a moment they both silently appreciated Hermione.

"Brilliant!" Harry said in a whisper. Actually having a girl tell you exactly what she wanted to do, when she wanted to do it, and where sounded like a dream come true to him.

"Yeah." Ron grinned, he was fairly sure nothing more adventurous than a kiss would have happened tonight if he had been in charge of the planning. They went back to putting on their dress robes.

"So, are you going to, you know, do IT?" Harry asked.

"I think so. I don't plan to chicken out."

"No, I didn't mean…just…wow." Harry continued buttoning his shirt. The idea that in just a few hours his two best friends would be in this room, here, where he was standing, doing IT, was swirling around his mind. When he realized that he had bungled his tie for the fifth time he put his mind back in his head, and began concentrating on the job at hand. He looked over at Ron, who was having about the same luck with his tie.

"So, do you have anything?"

"Huh?"

"You know. Something so she doesn't get pregnant. Pregnant and hunting Voldemort don't go hand in hand."

"Harry, she's a witch."

"So…"

"Ginny told me about it. It's something all the girls learn in third year, makes sure nothing happens if they don't want it to."

"Oh. That's useful."

"Yeah... What do Muggles do?"

"Condoms."

"What are they?"

"I'm not really sure. I didn't spend enough time with the Muggles. After all it's not like Uncle Vernon set me down to have a talk with me." Just the idea of which set them both to laughing.

* * *

They were dressed and had been sitting in the living room playing chess for half an hour before Hermione came down. Harry was winning for once, but he suspected that Ron was a bit distracted. Both Ron and Harry stopped and just looked at her. Her gown was deep ruby and cut so that her arms and shoulders were bare. She had her hair pulled up, and tendrils were curling around her face.

"You two look nice." Once she spoke they both jumped up. Ron went to her, put his arm around her, and whispered something in her ear. She smiled and kissed him. Harry went over to him more slowly, and hugged both of them.

"You're beautiful Hermione." Harry told her.

"Oh, how sweet. Stay that way, I want a picture." Mrs. Weasley hurried down the stairs and grabbed a camera. "Now smile." They did and she shot the photo.

The next hour was a blur of pictures, and helping get guests seated, answering questions, small talk, and vapid pleasantries. At one point Hermione left, and then a few minutes later, reported back that the bride was here, and with a good look at Harry said the Ginny was gorgeous. Eventually everyone got seated. The band began to play, and the wedding started.

Harry sat between Fred and George on the one side, and Hermione and Ron on the other. Mrs. Weasley was sniffling quietly in the row in front of them. Mr. Weasley sat with his arm around her.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been talking about how fantastic the back yard of the Burrows looked. How pretty the music was. George had added how pretty Fleur's cousins were… neither he nor Fred had brought dates, hoping to find themselves some partially Veela companions among Fleur's family.

The music shifted to a wedding march and all talking ceased. Bill, Charlie, and one of Bill's friends from school walked to the front. Gabrielle walked up the center aisle, followed by Ginny, both of them clothed in filmy pale gold gowns. Harry's breathing stopped. His vision focused solely on Ginny, the light shifting around her dress, the little emeralds sparkling in her flame red hair, her look of intense calm.

Hermione nudged him, "Stand up."

"Oh." He stood, tore his eyes away from Ginny to watch Fleur walk up the aisle. The bride was beautiful. Gloriously, radiantly, set the poets to writing, beautiful. She finished her walk and joined hands with Bill. The groom was, well, he had been handsome. Nowadays, he was euphemistically described as rugged. The wounds had scarred, but they would never heal cleanly. They faced each other, and joined hands. Their binder stood up and began to explain the grave and beautiful nature of the Unbreakable Vow.

After about a minute of that Harry's eyes went back to Ginny. _One day, I'll be standing here with you. I will live. I will come back._

The bonds glowed red on Fleur's and Bill's hands, and they were married. They kissed, and everyone applauded. The happy couple walked back down the aisle. Everyone milled around for a bit, and with a few waves of her wand Mrs. Weasley had the backyard ready for a serious party.

Long tables laden with food formed a U around a dance floor. Harry, Ron, and Hermione made small talk, anything to avoid talking about the fact that tomorrow they'd leave for the Dursley's, and after that…

The music perked up and other guests began helping themselves to food. Harry was tempted to join them, but knew that he needed to stay nearby, about ten million pictures had to be taken, and he was to be in some of them. He walked over to Ginny. She smiled at him.

"You're beautiful." He wanted to kiss her, but felt it would be inappropriate with all of her family milling around them.

"You're not so bad yourself. Green suits you."

"Thanks, your mom picked them out."

"I'll have to admit, as annoying as Phlegm is, she did pick out nice dresses for us."

"Nice is hardly the word, you're..." he didn't have a new word "beautiful," he said lamely.

"I love hearing you say that."

He leaned towards her and whispered in her ear, "Beautiful."

Ginny flushed slightly, but kept her voice playful. "Do you think being part Veela gives you fashion sense as well as extreme prettiness? Or is that just one of her natural talents?"

"I want the Bridesmaids over here…" The photographer called. Ginny looked at Harry, "I'll be back, eventually…" and off she went.

He walked over to Ron, "Hey, do you think you could get a picture or two of Ginny and me?"

"If you'll do the same for me and Hermione."

"Let's find a camera. We should get a photo of the four of us too."

* * *

Time passed, photos were taken, and the newlyweds hit the dance floor. Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny grabbed a small table as a base for them, and then alternated between dancing to the slow songs, and talking and eating during the faster ones. Finally the first notes of Glinda's Song began to wind themselves through the group. Ginny and Hermione looked at each other with an expression that neither of the boys understood.

"Let's dance." Ginny gave Harry her hand, and they walked to the crowded dance floor.

Ginny had that hard, bright look about her. Harry saw it and knew something was coming. He began to go over the reasons he didn't want her to come along with him on the Voldemort hunt in his mind, hoping she wouldn't want to fight him about it. He thought she had understood, but they hadn't actually talked about it, so maybe she didn't. Ginny looked at him for a long time, kissed him, pulled away and began to speak.

"Did you love me yesterday?"

Harry blinked slowly as his mind fell off of one track and tried to get onto another. This was the last thing he could have possibly imagined her saying. "Yes."

"Will you love me tomorrow?"

"Of course." He felt unsure of himself, off balance. He knew something was coming, but couldn't guess what.

"Then love me tonight." He looked confused. She began to blush, but the hard, bright look remained.

"Love…Me…Tonight…" what she said finally made sense. She could see it hit him like a wave. He stopped dancing, looked blank, and then nodded. She led him off the dance floor to her room.

"You learn how to make a lock that can't be opened from the outside when you live with Fred and George," Ginny said as she closed her door. It hit him that he was alone with Ginny. Always before someone could walk in, someone could find them, but now they were alone. Really, truly, alone.

Harry's face broke into a grin. "We're free then."

"Yes." She smiled back, a look of joy, with just a tinge of sorrow underlying it.

His eyes traveled over her. He closed the gap between them and kissed her. Moments later he pulled back and walked behind her. He stood a few inches away from her, and began to pull the emerald tipped pins out of her hair.

"I don't ever want to forget any of this," he purred, while stroking the hair that fell from the pins. He kissed her neck and she sighed.

"I want to see you." She took out her wand. "Lumos." The resulting light was dim, but they could easily see each other. She reached for the back of her gown.

"Let me," Harry said as he reached for the buttons, and began undoing them. "Who made this thing? There's what, fifty buttons?"

"Hmmm… I remember my mum smiling when she saw this."

Harry stopped for a moment, horrified. "Does your mum know what we're doing?"

"You think all fifteen no teen sex wards in this house failed simultaneously? She knows I'm giving you a proper good bye. My mum understands. They aren't saying anything, but they know you won't be coming back for a long time."

Harry decided to file that information under things he would think about later, much, much, later. Better things to spend time on now. Like getting more of these bloody buttons undone. "How did you get into this thing?"

"Gabriele did my buttons. I did hers. Half an hour later we were all set."

"Half an hour?"

Ginny laughed. "Okay, more like five minutes. Keep going." Harry got the last button undone and grazed his fingers along Ginny's exposed back. She arched her back against him, and shrugged off her dress. She spent a moment with her back to him, letting him drink in the view, and then turned to face him with a sassy smile.

His breath caught in his chest Ginny was facing him, just wearing a little lace bra, panties, stockings, and lace up sandals.

_Better than my dreams; better than my fantasies._ Harry quickly toed off his shoes, and knelt before Ginny. He untied her sandals and slipped them off. He cupped his hands around her calves and slid them up her legs as he stood up. His hand settled on her bottom as he kissed her. After a few minutes Ginny pulled away.

"My turn." She unlatched his robe and pulled it from his shoulder. She untied his tie, and slid it though her fingers. She smiled and kissed him. Ginny worked on undoing the buttons of his shirt. Then untucked it from his pants. She stopped undoing his clothes and moved away.

"I want to burn this into my memory. You, your shirt undone, standing in my room, getting ready to make love with me." She looked at him, making sure every line, every shadow was perfect in her mind. Harry reached out a hand and cupped her shoulder. His fingers trailed down her arm.

Her fingers danced along his skin as she pushed his shirt off. Kneeling in front of him she touched the line of hair that started at his navel and led down. "Let's see where this goes…" she smiled up at him. Ginny took his trousers in hand, and had them unbuttoned quickly. They dropped to the floor and Harry kicked them off.

Ginny stared at him for a few seconds, fascinated. Harry watched her study him. He saw her desire and felt humbled by it. He buried his hands in her hair and gently pulled her up to him. He kissed her, hard, pulling her against him, his heart beating faster, his body throbbing.

"Ginny."

She pulled back and walked to the bed. She tossed off the covers and lay down. "Come here, Harry."

And then he was in her arms. Laying next to her, skin to skin, breath to breath. It felt so good kissing her, her mouth gently sucking his tongue, her hands stroking his back, her stocking clad leg rubbing up and down his.

After a few seconds, maybe minutes, not hours, Harry spoke, "I love you."

Ginny kissed the tip of his nose. "I love you. I have since I was 10 and saw you heading off to school with my brothers."

In the days, weeks, and years later, when Harry would think back on this night, he was always awed at how it played in his mind. Moments of intense, almost painful, clarity blended into each other, the margins forever fuzzy.

The immense feeling of rightness stayed with him forever. Sounds were very clear, and for the rest of his life the memory of her breath against his ear, her moans under his lips, her gasp as they merged would be erotic triggers.

He could remember a moment of conversation, resting his head upon her tummy, his fingers on her knee, but not the moment before it. The moments after were some of his favorite memories. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"All my life, love. All my life."

"But…"

She sat up and held him closely to her. "No buts. You and me are right. We fit. And there is no way I'm letting you go off and leave me here without…" Her sentence trailed off, and he noticed her eyes were bright with tears.

He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. He cupped her face, and kissed her, and after a not too long bit of time, he forgot about leaving, about danger, about the sorrows that would start tomorrow, and only felt the joy of their touching.

The last of their clothing vanished. And he was above her, and she was guiding him. He sank into her and knew that he'd never want anything ever again the way he would want this. It was soft, and wet, and hot, and smooth and he was on fire and the only thing he needed was to be in her, and to move, because moving made hot and wet and smooth and soft somehow better, so much better. Then the world went fuzzy, and at some later point it sharpened.

His eyes were closed, but he could feel her on him. Her hair tickled his nose. Ginny's face was snuggled into his neck, her body wrapped around him. He was afraid to open his eyes and find himself in the dorm at Hogwarts, this all a dream.

She shifted her head to rest her chin on his chest, looking up at him. Harry opened his eyes. He didn't know what the expression on her face meant. He traced her lips with his finger.

"I don't want to leave you."

"I know." She kissed his fingertip then nipped it with her teeth.

"I'll come back."

"Good. I want us to do this again. I want us to do this a lot." He smiled at her. Doing this a lot had a vast appeal for him. He glanced towards their clothing, and thought about Ron and Hermione.

"How late do you think it is?"

"It doesn't matter, you can spend the night."

Harry eyes goggled. "Your parents are going to let me sleep all night with their fifteen-year-old daughter?" Harry just couldn't imagine Mr. Weasley saying yes to that one.

"Almost 16, and yes my parents, well, my mum, knows. She considers this a very special circumstance. The Hero's Farewell she called it. Apparently they were quite popular during the last war. Once you get back we'll have to sneak around until we get married, but tonight, that's special."

"We will get married," he said.

"Yes we will," she responded.

He spent a few minutes stroking the skin on her back. "I will come back." It was a promise to her, and a prayer to any and all gods who may have been listening.

"I know. It's the reason I can bear you leaving."

A/N: Well, we may at least start romantic and happy. Happy romance won't exactly be a regular feature in this story, so don't get too used to it.

This is where we begin to go away from the DH version of the story. Next chapter we'll start to head back to the general lay out of the story.


	3. The Plan

Chapter Two: The Plan

Severus Snape had returned to the Headmaster's office. This had been planned before he had killed Dumbledore. It was known that everyone else would be gone for the summer, and Minerva and Hagrid would be at the Weasley-Delacour wedding, leaving him ample access to the portrait he needed to consult.

He trudged up the stairs. The door to the office opened for him. It knew to do so by whatever magic Dumbledore had used before his death. He had not expected anyone to bar his path, but in his caution he had forgone his usual black, and changed his hair and face to an insipid version of Lockhart's good looks. No one, even under the most potent Veritaserum, could say Severus Snape entered Hogwarts that night.

"Hello Severus, you're looking fashionable tonight." The portrait had the nerve to smile kindly at him.

Snape dropped the glamour that hid his face. "Since I'm wanted for your murder it seemed prudent not to advertise my true identity."

"Quite, quite. I will make sure that gets cleared up."

"Of course. The only question is how long I'll have been dead before that happens."

"Oh, Severus, I'm sure we can keep you alive through this. Part of this whole charade is for the sole purpose of keeping you alive."

"I'm touched. And when I'm no longer useful to you?"

"You'll always be useful. Now, how about Draco? Is he safe?"

"He's home with his mother. As for safe?" He made a gesture with his hands to indicate a lack of information.

"As safe as can be then. Good, good. Is he properly grateful?"

"The little skunk is proclaiming far and wide that I've stolen his glory. But, in the quiet of his mind he is grateful. His mother is grateful, and so will his father be, when he learns what happened."

"I suppose that's all that can be expected. Now, how long until the Ministry falls?"

"It's set for July 10th. So, three weeks. It may be pushed back, many voices are pleading with the Dark Lord to take things slowly, and wait until we have an unassailable grip on the Ministry."

"And what are you telling him?"

"That this is a world filled with sheep that will not so much as bleat when he moves. That all he'll be doing is fulfilling the desires they hold deep in their dark little hearts. That they will welcome his rule and the chance to be rid of the Muggleborns as long as he provides them with a nice soft lie to keep their hearts happy."

"If only what you said wasn't so true." Dumbledore's portrait looked deeply sorrowfull.

Snape did not respond. He had no desire to ruminate on the woes of the Wizarding world with Dumbledore. Dumbledore was good at regretting the big picture, but his ability to mourn for individuals was more notably lacking. This lack had burned any empathy Severus might have had for Dumbledore to ash long ago.

"Harry will return to the Dursley house tomorrow. He will stay until after the Ministry falls, and then we will remove him for his own safety. I will need your help in getting this set up properly."

Severus waited for Dumbledore to expand on the plan.

"You will contact Mundungus and drop an idea into his head. He and ten or so Order members will team up to remove Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Half of them will use Polyjuice Potion to turn into duplicate Harrys and half will remain as themselves. Each team will fly to a different safe house, and then join back together later that night. It'll be put out that they are going to move him on his birthday, but it will actually happen a week, maybe two, after the Ministry falls. You'll then tell Voldemort about what day the move will happen, and make sure that there are many Death Eaters waiting for a chance to attack Harry."

Snape glared at the portrait. "That is the single dumbest plan I have ever heard. Are you trying to get everyone killed?"

"I am trying to make sure that the Order knows what it's up against and gets a chance to get rid of as many Death Eaters as possible."

"By risking Potter's life?"

"He'll be fine. The duplicates should take care of that." For the thousandth time Snape wondered about Dumbledore. For someone who claimed Potter was the key to winning this whole war, and finally ending the Dark Lord, Dumbledore was shockingly indifferent to situations where Harry could be killed. Severus mildly hoped that one day he'd find the reason. Severus more deeply hoped that there was a reason, and that it didn't just boil down to him working for two psychopaths, one a bit better behaved than the other.

"And how am I supposed to have come across this information? It's not like I'm welcome at Order meetings these days."

"You're a spy. How do spies usually get information they aren't supposed to have?"

"The most effective technique, the one I spent years cultivating, is not being outed as a spy."

Dumbledore's portrait looked stung. He sat quietly for a moment and then continued. "You'll go for a drink. Hagrid will be at the pub. He'll have had too much to drink. He's been mourning me a bit excessively. You'll be cloaked and offer him some sort of pet. I'm sure your master will find that technique remarkably effective."

"I'm sure," Snape said dryly. But the Dark Lord would like it. Hell, he might even consider it flattering. And, since Hagrid had done something like that before, the Order would be none the wiser as to what was really going on. But it would also neutralize Hagrid. He'd never be trusted with anything again. Why did every plan Dumbledore come up with seem to hurt the Order more than it could possibly help it? For a moment Snape entertained a fantasy that Dumbledore and Voldemort were working together to take over the Wizarding world. He noticed, almost clinically, that the idea was amusing, but he felt to emotional response to it.

He sighed, and remembered a promise he had made long ago. "May I at least suggest that you make sure Potter does not take part in this asinine plan of yours? If he Apparates straight out of the Dursley house he'll be safe."

Dumbledore shook his head. "It can't be done. Voldemort will know if the real Harry is there. He won't be able to tell which one is the correct one, but he'll know if none of them are."

Snape nodded. He knew that Voldemort could feel Potter. What he didn't know is why his master didn't make better use of that information. He knew that had he been the Dark Lord this problem would have ended long ago. A drop in a drink, handed to the boy at school, and then there would be no more Potter. But he was not the Dark Lord. At this point he had decided that Voldemort just didn't care all that much as to when Potter died, so long as he did.

"Make sure the Order kills a lot of Death Eaters. Otherwise this will have been a horrendous failure." Severus stood to leave.

"I'll see you again soon?" Dumbledore's Portrait asked.

"I've let it be known that ruling Hogwarts is my greatest desire. I'll be Headmaster shortly after the Ministry falls."

"Wonderful." Dumbledore smiled benignly.

Severus regained his smiling blond visage. He stepped out of the office and began his walk out of the castle. For a horrifying heartbeat Severus realized that he was Dumbledore's newest Sirius Black, a man too dangerous to be allowed out. He too would be imprisoned in his own personal hell: trapped in gray walls hated by all who surrounded him. At least before he was tolerated, and almost, on occasion, liked. Now he was Dumbledore's murderer. The old staff would hate him, and the new staff, loyal Death Eaters all, would fear him and suck up to him. And at least one of them would be on Bella's payroll waiting for the day he slipped, waiting to offer him to the Dark Lord as the traitor he was.

His jaw clenched. "I will be useful here." He said out loud. He felt a fleeting satisfaction. He was still the better man. Even imprisoned he'd get things done. "Besides, at least I won't have to teach." A gallows smile touched his lips.

A/N: If you read The Prince's Tale carefully, you'll note that Snape is talking to Dumbledore's portrait before Harry is taken from Privet Drive. The only way that works is if he somehow gets into Hogwarts after Dumbledore is killed and before the Ministry falls. I think I came up with a nice way for this to work.


	4. Beginnings

Chapter Three: Beginning

The enormity of their unpreparedness hit Harry shortly after breakfast. The Weasleys knew they were headed to Privet Drive but had not offered a way to get to Privet Drive. So it was while walking out of the garden, towards the main road in Ottery St. Catchpole that the first conversation on practical skills occurred.

"Ummm…how are we supposed to get to Harry's?" Ron asked.

"I can Apparate us." Hermione responded.

"You've been to Harry's?"

"Well, no."

"You could do it, right Ron?" Harry said, looking hopeful.

"Can't do it for the same reason you can't Harry. No license. I'm thinking getting nabbed the first day on our Secret Mission for Apparating Without A License wouldn't be a great plan."

"Probably not. How soon can you get your license?" Harry kicked at a stone as they continued down the street.

"The next test is next week, I was hoping to get it while we're at your place."

"Good idea."

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. "I have a driver's license. We could Apparate to my parent's home and borrow their car. It's Sunday, so they're usually home. I need to go home for a bit anyway. I need to convince my parents to get out of town, and that probably won't be easy. So I'll drive you to Harry's and then start to work on them."

"Beats staying at the Dursley's. I'm sure Aunt Petunia would have kittens if she thought I had a girlfriend staying over."

Ron put his arm around Hermione. "My girlfriend."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but didn't remove his arm. She had been wondering what would be different about this morning, but so far things had been pretty status quo. Part of her was grateful for that, it had made breakfast quite a bit easier, but part of her wanted things to be different today. She was also dying to get Harry alone and see how his night went, but she guessed that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"Wouldn't make too much difference, she'd be horrified either way. So when did you get a driver's license?"

"Last summer. I had to modify the application a bit, because otherwise I wouldn't have had enough on the road time to qualify, but no one has questioned my paperwork."

Ron looked at her with shock on his face. Hermione blushed. "I did the required number of hours, I just didn't allow enough time to elapse between those hours. I mean, really, what does it matter if you drive two hundred hours over six months or six weeks? It's still two hundred hours."

"I'm sure Fred and George would agree with you." Ron said wryly.

Hermione moved into full self justification mode. "There wasn't any other time to do it. I only had six weeks, and then I'd be back with you guys…"

"It's OK Hermione. Really. Sometimes I have to remember that you aren't the girl you were in first year." Ron said with a placating tone.

"I should hope not." Hermione sounded huffy.

"So, how about we get Apparating to your house Hermione?" Harry said to forestall a bout of bickering. He had been kind of hoping the bickering would lessen, but although sex was very, very lovely, it wouldn't create a relationship miracle.

They took two more steps towards the town, and Hermione reached for each of them. "Before we get to my parents I should tell you something, they don't really know about what's been going on here. I mean, they know You-Know-Who is out there, and they know he's after Harry, but they don't know how many close calls we've had. They don't know my life has ever been in danger. They don't know anyone has been killed. They don't know Dumbledore is dead."

Ron and Harry were both wearing identical slack jawed expressions. Hermione had told her parents almost nothing? Even the Dursleys knew that Harry was involved in something insanely dangerous.

She watched both of them stand there in shock, and then continued to speak. "So, I'm going to tell them that we're just dropping by, and that I want to show off my driving skills. Tonight, when we're alone, I'll give them the real story."

Ron recovered first. "Do you want me to go with you? Why didn't you tell them?"

"If they had thought I was one of the main fighters in the war against You…" She straighted her shoulders, took a deep breath, and continued, "Voldemort they would have taken me out of Hogwarts. Transferred me to Beaux Batons or sent me to a Muggle school. And, no, I don't want you to come."

Ron looked hurt, so Hermione spoke quickly. "That's not quite right. I'd like you to be there, but I don't want your first real introduction to my parents to be in the midst of what I'm sure will be a huge fight. They won't take this well. They're, well… pacifists."

Ron shook his head, and Harry looked confused, but spoke anyway. "I'll bite, what's a pacifist?"

"They think war and fighting are wrong."

"Does anyone disagree with that? No one thinks it's a good idea, but when it happens you've got too…" Ron was warming up to the topic when Hermione gently placed a finger on his lips.

"They don't believe in fighting no matter what. According to them, when war comes you dig deep down into the cellar and you hide until it's over."

"You don't defend yourself?"

"Nope, you run away."

"Oh." Ron looked as if he has just stepped into something distasteful. Granted, it wasn't as if he came from a long line or Aurors, and his family thought the Wizards who signed up to fight in the Muggle wars were mad, but none of them had just turned away from a fight. Especially not a fight that showed up at their doorstep and challenged them.

Harry also had an odd look on his face. The idea that you could choose not to fight was something that had literally never occurred to him. That he could have gone to ground, hidden, and just peacefully spent his life trudging through the drudgery of a Muggle school and life with the Dursleys was painful to think of, but somehow it was also oddly enticing. What would a dull life of never having tasted real fear feel like?

Both of them were pulled out of their thoughts by Hermione's hand on their arm. She made sure she had a good strong hold on them, almost painful, and glanced about to see if anyone else was around. They were alone, so she Apparated them to her parent's home.

That was how she thought of the place, "her parent's home." It certainly hadn't been her home for years. It hadn't been her home since the night Cedric died, since she had known that she was in a fight for her life, and that she would fight.

That night had been a watershed for her in many ways. That was the night she had said goodbye to the good little girl who tried so hard to play by the rules, and who felt guilty about breaking them afterward. That was the night that a harder, more action oriented Hermione was born. That was the night she decided that the ends did justify the means, especially if you used the right means to get to your ends, and her end was Voldemort dead, the Death Eaters destroyed, and her friends alive. Just about anything that got them to that end would be acceptable. That was the night she decided to stop telling her parents about what was happening at Hogwarts.

Now they were standing in the mudroom at her parent's home. Hermione cleared her mind, and took a breath, then in a perky, chipper voice, she called out, "Mum, Dad! Are you home?"

Her parents came rushing to the mudroom. "Hermione!" "Honey!" "What are you doing here?" "There's still another week of school, isn't there?" "Is this Ron and Harry?" "It's been so long since we've seen you!" Robert and Jean Granger were in their early fifties. They both tended to slim and it was fairly obvious that Hermione had gotten her hair from her father, and her coloring from her mother. 

Both of them hugged their daughter, and offered their hands to the boys, while questions flew and overlapped without any chance for anyone to answer them. Finally they ran out of steam.

"We were let out for the weekend for Ron's brother Bill's wedding. I'd been telling them about getting my driver's license and I was hoping to get a chance to show these two how good of a driver I am."

Jean smiled indulgently. Robert laughed. "First nice day and out on the road you want to go. I remember those days…"

"As do I." Jean smiled at her husband.

"But, before you head off, how about sitting down, and letting us see you. It's been months."

"Of course, mum."

Looking back Hermione was rather proud of Ron and Harry. They both did good jobs of staying away from anything dodgy. They talked about classes, they talked about the wedding, they talked about their plans for next year, what classes they wanted to take, and how they were planning on maybe becoming Aurors. For a moment it was pleasant to pretend that future was what would actually face them.

Then she told her parents about her upcoming NEWT level classes, and the finals they would be taking next week. And how she was going to take a little bit of everything next year because she still wasn't sure what she wanted to do after Hogwarts, although House Elf Rights was still high on her list.

An hour of pleasant lies passed. Hermione wrangled the keys from her parents, and took the boys to the car. It was a blue-green Honda Civic. They watched as the three teenagers got into the car, Ron sitting in the front to see how everything worked, and waved goodbye to their daughter.

"Something's wrong." Jean said to her husband.

"I know. She could have showed off her driving skills at either of the breaks, so why now?" He watched the car head down the lane.

"I don't know. She was fighting with Ron earlier, and Harry wouldn't consider her driving a big deal." She put an arm around her husband.

"You've got a point. Let's hope it's just that."

"Let's hope."

* * *

"That was the hardest thing I've ever done outside of Hogwarts." Ron was sprawled across the front seat.

"I know. I felt like they could see it was all lies." Harry added.

"It doesn't matter. They let me go, and tonight I'll set them straight. They just had to stay happy long enough to let me drive you home. Besides, I thought you both did really well."

"Thanks." Ron said to her.

"So Harry, where is Privet Drive?"

"Little Whinging, Surrey."

"We'll need to get a map and more petrol."

"Sounds good. Um…do you have Muggle money?" Harry asked.

Hermione groaned. "Nope, I didn't think to get any. You?"

Harry shook his head. "Is Gringotts open on Sunday?"

"Until noon. You've got twenty minutes." Ron said.

Hermione pulled the car over, quickly grabbed Harry, and Apparated to Gringotts. Ron sat in the car and played with the radio for a few minutes. Then he went rummaging through his things and found a piece of paper and a pen.

_What We Need_

_A Plan _He stopped writing and thought for a moment. Surely there was a plan, and Harry just hadn't told them all the ins and outs yet. Once they knew what the plan was this list would be easier to write. Still they'd need some things no matter what, and he might as well write them down.

_Money/ Muggle & Galleons_

_Safe Houses _ Where was safe? His family? Bill and Fleur? The Shrieking Shack? Lupin's? Hell, where did Lupin live? Grimmauld Place? Any of them might work in a pinch, and any of them may be a trap. They'd need somewhere no one else had thought of. He was very glad that Hermione had packed a tent. He had a sinking suspicion that they'd be using it often.

_Apparition Licenses_

_Books/Stuff about Horcruxes_

_Better offensive and defensive spells_

_Healing Spells_

_Communications--each other/ outsiders? _ It would be nice to have a way to let his family know they were alive and as safe as could be. Ginny especially would want to know. It would have to be untraceable though… More Protean charms? Have to talk to Hermione more about that.

He stared at the paper, willing an idea to come to his mind.

_How do you destroy a Horcrux?_

_What are they?_

_Where are they? _He shook his head. That had to be part of the stuff Harry hadn't told them yet. Dumbledore must have told Harry where to look at least. He nibbled the tip of his pen.

_Are we on a quest or are we starting a war?_

Ron shook his head. His thoughts were going far afield. Get back to the main topic. They were on a quest. The rest of the Order was in charge of the war. It might be nice to be able to coordinate efforts on both fronts on occasion though. That went back to communications. Depending on where the bloody things were flanking attacks and the occasional diversion would be of value.

_Occlumency?_ He thought and then scratched it out. There was no way they could learn enough of it fast enough to keep You-Know-Who out, and as long as he could get into their minds it didn't matter if anyone else could. Besides it was almost certain that if any of them were captured they'd be brought to You-Know-Who immediately.

_Suicide pill/spell/potion? _ His hand hovered over the words he had just written. He wanted to take them back, make them vanish from the paper, from his mind, but he knew that was silly. If it came to giving up Harry, or the Horcruxes, or dying? He didn't like the idea, it felt cold and heavy in his head. But it also wouldn't go away. An image from the night before filled his mind. Hermione naked and smiling and holding him. If it was her being captured or death, the answer was easy. Anything to keep her safe.

He sat staring out the window. He envied Harry. Ginny was home and safe, then she'd be at Hogwarts and safe. Harry didn't have to be weighed down by constant fear. He might be lonely. He might be frustrated. But he wouldn't have the same choking fear that was always just below the surface of Ron's thoughts.

"Suck it up." Hermione wouldn't go home to hide out just because it would make it easier for him. Hermione shouldn't go home. She was worth more than him any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

He looked at his list, crumpled it, and then vanished it. This was just wishful thinking. He needed to hear the plan first, then he could really work on what they needed.

Two loud pops filled the car. Harry and Hermione were in the backseat. "Are we flush?" Ron asked.

"More than enough for a map and petrol." Harry answered.

"Lunch?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded. He hadn't cleaned out his account, but he had taken more than he had ever imagined doing before. The four thousand pounds in his pocket felt very strange. He had wanted to get more, but Hermione had told him too much would attract attention.

Hermione hopped into the driver's seat and turned on the radio. "Let's go!"

"Yes, lets." Ron said, more enthusiasm in his voice than he was feeling. And they drove in the direction of what would eventually be the sunrise.

A/N: Hello All. I'm fairly sure I muffed the description of Hermione working on getting her driver's license. So, if any of you happen to be Brits who remember what was required to get a license back in '95 please drop me a line so I can fix that. Thanks.


	5. Number Four Privet Drive

Chapter 4: Number Four Privet Drive

Petunia Dursley opened the door, took one look at the trio of teenagers standing in front of her, and began to close it. Harry, expecting something like this would happen, had his foot in the door faster than most people could blink. He spoke to his aunt in a very low voice.

"Aunt Petunia, if you do not let us in I will snog Ron, and then Hermione, and then start a blazing row for all the neighbors to hear about how you won't allow us to stay because we're a bisexual trio. If I really get going I'll work in how Hermione's pregnant and what a hypocrite you are to not let an unmarried pregnant girl into your home."

Aunt Petunia looked like she was about to pass out.

"However, if you let us in, we'll stay no longer than my birthday, we'll pay for our own food, and we'll spend most of the time in my room out of your way. When we leave you will never see me again. So, will you let us in?"

Petunia said nothing, her skin was very, very pale, but she opened the door. Ron and Harry entered, Hermione gave Ron a very quick peck on the cheek and said, "I'll be back tomorrow or the next day."

Ron and Harry said their goodbyes, and she returned to the car.

Harry looked at his Aunt, hovering behind the kitchen door. "Will 150 pounds a week cover our food?" She nodded; her mouth tight, a look of immense distaste on her face.

"Good, I'll get it for you."

Once they entered Harry's room Ron spoke to him, "Blimey Harry, what made you think of that?"

"I don't know, just inspiration I guess."

"Don't ever snog me, mate."

"Don't worry, I didn't intend to go through with it. If she had just shut the door I don't know what I would have done." He rifled through his wallet and grabbed the amount of money he had offered his Aunt. "I'll be back in a sec. Do whatever you want to make the room more comfortable. I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot of time in here over the next few weeks."

The rest of the afternoon and early evening passed quietly. Ron worked on transforming Harry's room. Adding more space, making another bed, getting Hedwig settled. Dinner was almost silent. Uncle Vernon was at a convention in Edinburgh for the next three days, and Dudley didn't get out of school for another week. Aunt Petunia was willing to answer questions, curtly and with no affection, but would not do anything to keep a conversation going. Harry and Ron did not speak to each other. They finished their food as quickly as possible. Ron offered to wash up, and Aunt Petunia gave him a withering stare. No one could possibly clean to her standards, and no one would ever be given the option to try. The boys returned to Harry's room.

One of the new additions to Harry's room was a large chalkboard. Ron had transfigured a few of Dudley's old posters into it. He stood next to the board, and Harry settled onto his bed. Ron looked eager, he'd wanted to ask this for a while, but the time had never seemed right. Well now was as right as it was going to get. Plus he was really hoping to have some sort of a plan together to impress Hermione with.

"So what is the plan? What did Dumbledore want you to do?" Ron looked hopeful, at last he'd finally know what they were supposed to do, and he could start working on how best to do it.

"Find the Horcruxes and destroy them." Harry had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Well, yeah, I know that, I'm not totally stupid. But what's the plan?"

"That is the plan."

Ron's face fell. "That's it?"

"That's it."

"That's it?" Ron looked incredulously horrified. "He's sending us out to go find four Horcruxes. We don't know what or where they are. We don't know how to destroy them. We don't know anything, and we can't tell anyone?"

"Yes."

Ron's head hit the wall with a hollow thunk.

For the first time Harry began to feel that this task might be too much for them. He quickly started talking to kill that feeling. "We're not totally clueless. We know one of them is a locket that belongs to RAB. We know the Diary and the Ring are destroyed. We know that one is likely to be Hufflepuff's cup. We know one is Nagini. We know he's got a thing for stuff that belonged to the founders, so we've got to find out if anything of Ravenclaw's is still around. Dumbledore was sure that the Sword of Gryffindor was safe."

"No Harry, we know that there are Horcruxes. We think he made six of them. We think that he'd pick things that belonged to the Founders. We think that Hufflepuff's cup and Nagini are two of them…" Ron stopped. "Did Dumbledore say anything about how ruddy stupid it would be to make a Horcrux out of something alive? I mean is this some sort of immortal Snake?"

"It's a bloody big snake. I don't know about immortal. He didn't think having a Horcrux that could think for itself was a good plan."

"Yeah, because if you want to live forever sticking a bit of your soul in something that can think for itself is the biggest problem." Ron sat on the side of his bed, and rubbed his face in his hands. They sat there without speaking for a few moments. Then Ron jumped up.

"Merlin's wrinkly left testicle! This is impossible. It's like starting a game two rooks, one bishop, and a queen down. You just can't win."

"We've got to." Harry was looking at his friend earnestly. Part of him was thinking _This is why I wanted to leave you and Hermione behind. _Part of him was realizing how right Ron was, and that thought didn't sit well with him.

"I don't see how we can."

Harry got huffy. "I'd rather not just roll over and die, and from where I'm sitting that's my choice. You on the other hand, can still go home."

Ron looked down, somewhat ashamed. "Let me think."

A very long time passed. Harry wracked his brains for anything that may be useful that he left out. "He gave the Diary to Malfoy. The ring was hidden in his grandfather's home. His locket was supposed to be in the cave, but RAB stole it, so RAB must have found out it was there. He sends Nagini out on errands, so she's probably the easiest one to destroy."

Ron stared up at the ceiling. Harry wasn't sure if he had heard. After a minute he rolled to his side and looked at Harry.

"Nagini might be the easiest one to destroy, but as soon as she's gone he'll make a new one. So we'll have to save her for last. Does he know that some of them have been destroyed?"

"I don't think so. Dumbledore thought he couldn't feel them be destroyed because his soul was so damaged."

"Well, that might be our first bit of luck. If he was replacing the damaged ones this would be impossible."

"I don't even want to think about that. Hell, what if there are ten or twenty of them laying around? He wanted to make a lot of them. Seven's just based on one conversation he had with Slughorn when he was fifteenish."

Ron grimaced. "This just keeps getting better and better. Well, first and foremost, we need to get to Dumbledore's portrait. I don't care how we do it. We need to talk to him. There just isn't enough here for us to do this. I'd rather plan how to break into his office than try to find these damn things."

Harry looked up at him and grinned. "Finally, something we can do! We've got the map, an invisibility cloak, and a school that's almost empty. I'd think the hardest part would be getting the password."

"No, remember Lee Jordan, he was able to levitate Nifflers into Umbridge's office. We should be able to fly into Dumbledore's. He's got windows right?"

"Yes. Disillusionment charms?"

"It's worked before."

"So I guess that's our first task, learn how to do a Disillusionment charm."

"Hermione packed about fifty books, I'm sure it's in one of them." Ron smiled. This was a straight forward task, one he could wrap his mind around and complete competently.

Harry smiled back at him. He wouldn't have remembered Lee and the nifflers on his own, and flying into Dumbledore's office seemed a lot easier than trying to spend the next week thinking of what kind of password McGonagall would have come up with.

Ron grabbed the box that Hermione had packed the books in. She had mentioned that she'd like to spend some time winnowing them down, but that for now they could carry all of them. All of them turned out to be quite a bit more than fifty. Closer to one hundred. Ron was tossing them into two piles, likely and unlikely, and Harry skimmed the likely ones for the Disillusionment Charm.

"Ron."

"Yeah?" Ron looked up from the book he was thinking about, _Defensive Charms for the Wary Wizard._ He tossed it into the likely category.

"How do they know if you use magic underage?"

"Something called The Trace. Usually they don't bother to watch it if you're somewhere with of age Wizards. You know, mum and dad are supposed to keep you in line. But if you're alone, they keep an eye on you to make sure you behave."

"So I guess you'll be the one learning the Disillusionment Charm, and just I'll be going through the motions."

"Probably a good idea, at least until the 31st."

"It's going to be a long five weeks."


	6. Malfoy Manor

A/N: This occurs before The Dark Lord Ascending and the addition of Voldemort as a 'guest' at the Malfoy house.

Chapter 5: Malfoy Manor

Usually Severus Snape enjoyed his time at Malfoy Manor. Usually the food was good, the service attentive, and the company enjoyable. Usually.

The food was still good. Not as good as he could make himself, but Wizards of their station did not cook for themselves, and when he was with the Malfoy's he used their code of behavior. But it was better than Hogwarts.

The service was still attentive. He had one House Elf_, Winky? Blinky? Charmaine?_ assigned to him. He knew it had a name, but it was so well trained it arrived as soon as he thought of a desire. He had never had to call it.

The company was what had gone downhill. Like Hogwarts, Malfoy Manor was an old and extremely well defended building. Like Hogwarts it had rooms that could only be reached by certain people, at certain times, using certain techniques. This asset was what had gotten him invited to stay at the Manor, his own home compromised. Alas, this asset had also gotten Bellatrix and her slug of a husband Rodolphus assigned to the Manor.

Of the Death Eaters, Bellatrix was the only one he had ever feared. His views on the others ranged from loathing, to, in the case of Lucius and Narcissa, rather warm fondness. But Bella was a mix of insanity, instability, and power that no man in his right mind ever relaxed near. In the dark of the night, shortly after the escape from Azkaban, when he was sure no else could hear, Lucius had confided in Severus that were it not for the orders of the Dark Lord, that he would not have her in his house. She was just too dangerous.

Snape had chuckled. "Admit it Lucius. You're afraid that she'll decide you aren't dedicated enough, and do something about it."

"Bugger that. She knows I'm not dedicated enough, but as long as I keep the money rolling she's got no leverage. I'm afraid she'll learn about the Diary and tell _him_ about it."

"He still doesn't know?" Snape was shocked. He hadn't said anything about the affairs of the 1992-1993 school year, but he was astounded to find out that no one else had as well.

"I knew, you knew, the Potter and Weasley brats know, Dumbledore knew, that _house elf_," his voice dripped scorn, "knows, but who among that group would tell our master?"

"Who indeed?" Severus realized he had a very potent piece of information, one that might prove to be a lifesaver, or one that the Order could possibly use to its advantage. Or could have used if someone other than Dumbledore was doing the planning, the old man had been somewhat incompetent in life, now that he was dead his planning skills were deteriorating faster than his corpse. Snape was hoping that they'd eventually decide a portrait wasn't all that hot as a leader. Preferably before The Dark Lord killed Harry and won dominion over all of England.

They sipped their drinks. Snape spoke. "We need to make sure she never knows of it."

"Yes, she'd sell me in a heartbeat if she thought it would gain even the merest second of his approval."

"She was a member before you were, if I remember correctly…"

Lucius knew what his friend was getting at, and decided he could tell the story. Although their master was often unpredictable, he usually wouldn't hold it against you to tell tales out of school about other Death Eaters. Besides, Severus was a clever man, and having him well informed, and watching his back, would be a good thing.

"She was fourteen maybe fifteen, and my memory of her at that time was that she was already a bit odd. Beautiful, charming, but she liked pain a little too much. Narcissa tells me that they never had any pets. Not that they never purchased any pets mind you, but that they all vanished within a week of being brought home. I was nine or ten, and I remember she scared me then. But she was a Black, and was getting to an age where a marriage should be arranged. I remember my father talking to some of the others about who's sons would be linked with her, and none of them wanted her, especially with two equally beautiful and much more appealing younger sisters. Fortunately Lestrange offered himself. He was recently widowed, and older, and I think many of my father's friends breathed a sigh of relief that none of them would have to deal with her.

"This part is second hand information. After she finished school she and Lestrange married, and he was the one who brought her to the Dark Lord's attention. Rumor had it, back when there were those still willing to spread rumors about my dear sister-in-law, that The Dark Lord took one look at her, and then ushered her into his rooms for a 'private meeting.'"

"He was still a man then?"

"Maybe," Lucius shrugged. "But I don't know if sex ever interested him. I don't know that it ever interested her. You'll note she has no children. I'm just as willing to believe they spent that hour exploring the joys of carefully, lovingly applied pain.

"Anyway, after that meeting she became his pet. And for a very long time she held and defended that position from any who might take it away. I know she killed for him. I know they tortured together. I know that she was willing to get her hands dirty, as well as use a wand, and I know he liked to watch her in action."

"She hated me on first sight."

"Yes, but it wasn't anything personal. You weren't pure enough for her. She blocked many talented half and quarter bloods, but you were," Lucius smiled easily at Severus, "well represented. Granted, I didn't win any points with her that night as well. But, I was already married to Narcissa, so she was stuck with me."

Severus smiled back, remembering how Lucius had plead his case in front of The Dark Lord. He got to spend a half hour being praised, it was an entirely new experience, one that was never repeated. "It's personal now."

"Yes." Lucius swirled his drink, and then gulped it down. "It's personal for you, and for me, and for any of the rest of us who didn't just walk off to Azkaban singing his praises. None of us are good enough for her."

Snape thought about that, and knew that it wasn't quite true, at least in his case. She had personally loathed him from their second meeting. Bella was a good Legilemens. Not great, she'd never have the subtly or power to be great, but she was good enough to pull whatever you feared most out of you. After all, you need to know that kind of things about your victim if you wanted to really, really hurt them. On their second meeting she had tried to read him, and had found herself staring at a blank wall. He hadn't expected the attack and hadn't had the time to come up with a believable set of counter memories. Ever since he had been on guard around her, and everyone else, and had allowed her to see what he wanted her to see. But she had kept that memory of finding nothing the first time she used Legilemency on him, and she had been watching him carefully ever since.

Finally, Severus responded to Lucius, "As long as we remain good enough for _him_ we should be fine."

"Yes, but if or when we slip, she'll be waiting." Lucius shivered. Snape placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Then we must endeavor not to slip." Both men thought, but neither one said, _until the Dark Lord falls and we are once again free._

* * *

Footsteps on the floorboards outside of his room jerked Snape from his memories. Light steps, short steps, woman's steps. Severus tensed, his fingers wrapping around his wand.

"Severus." Narcissa's voice melted his tension.

He walked to his door and opened it.

"Hello, Narcissa."

"I wanted you to know that dinner would be at six, and that Bella and Rudolphus will not be joining us. I was hoping you would eat with us."

"I would enjoy that immensely." He left unsaid that the reason he had been taking his meals in his room was Bella's presence. Narcissa understood. "Will Draco be joining us?"

"I doubt it. He's been keeping to himself since," she looked for a delicate way to put it, "you brought him home."

"Yes, watching a death can be hard, even if it is for a good cause."

"Yes, even if it is for a good cause. But he will toughen up." Both knew they spoke the words just so they'd have the memory if they needed it. Neither talked about the relief they felt that Draco was still human enough to be shaken by the death of Dumbledore.

"I'll see you at dinner then?"

"Yes." He smiled at her, and shut the door. He returned to his bed. Of his current responsibilities Draco was the most pressing. He was fairly sure he could keep Draco alive, but would be he ruined by the end of this?

_Probably. He's cracking already, and we can't provide him any comfort because of the risk to our own lives. _ Severus rubbed the bridge of his nose. _Memory modification? I could take some of the worst memories away from him. And have to do it again and again as he witnesses each new murder? And when The Dark Lord does demand he kill someone? No, he needs the memories, for his own protection. He'll need the emotional calluses they'll provide. Keep his body alive, his mind will take care of itself… eventually. _

_This is the endgame Sev. If everything goes well we'll be done in a little less than a year. Just have to keep body and soul together that much longer. Of course, it's on Dumbledore's say so that this should be done in a year, and he's not been reliable of late. _

Severus felt the familiar flash of anger sweep through him. _Why didn't the Old Man tell me the plan? Potter's barely able to keep himself alive, let alone plan anything more complicated than lunch. And we've all got to sit and wait and hope that he'll somehow pull the right answers out of his ass. _

His dark mood had not much improved by dinner time. But these days the Malfoys were used to each meal starting with a sense of doom. Narcissa kept the conversation light and happy, and the House Elves made sure that good food and wine flowed and made hearts lighter. By the end of the meal Severus could almost pretend that this was any of the nights he had eaten with Narcissa and Lucius during the years _he _was missing. Nights of pleasant conversation and moments of happiness. Nights that all three would have given anything to return to. There were no fools in this room, no true believers, and they all knew they'd be better off as soon as The Dark Lord fell. The question was: Would any of them live to see it?

A/N: Hello all. So, you've probably noticed that I haven't been updating with my usual speed. This is because of a recent case of pregnancy, and a vicious case of morning (and day and night) sickness. So I try to write on good days, and try not to toss my cookies too often on the bad ones. If the good luck fairy visits, I may be feeling better in a few weeks (as the magic week twelve approaches). If this is anything like my last pregnancy, I'll be sick for another three months.  
Either way, I'll try to write, and I'm sorry about the lag time. I hope none of you are waiting for updates on pins and needles.


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